In June 2016, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore made his much-anticipated return to rock music as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Delivering three powerhouse concerts in Europe, two in Germany and one in England, Blackmore yet again proved why he is a pivotal figure of rock and roll. Initially he had no plans to record new music, but in an interview for the May 2017 of Japan's Burrn! magazine Blackmore reveals that he and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Lords Of Black) have in fact been recording.  The Highway Star has published a partial transcription from the interview, an excerpt of which can be read below.

Burrn: We understand you were recording some material in the studio.

Ritchie: "We were recording until yesterday in the studio at our home. We finished yesterday. We recorded some songs for Blackmore’s Night and two songs with the new singer for Rainbow."

Burrn: Is Ronnie Romero the new singer?

Ritchie: "Yes, I wrote one new song, and also recorded one of the old ones. Ronnie, who is in Madrid now, added his vocals and sent it back. Rather than make an album, we may release as singles."

It has been confirmed that Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow will release new material on May 26th. The new song "Land Of Hope And Glory" and a re-recording of the Rainbow classic "I Surrender" are now available for pre-order via iTunes here.

On June 9th, Eagle Rock Entertainment will issue the Live In Birmingham 2016 2CD and Digital Audio - the first release of the audio from the 2016 British show. Packed with a set list combining classic tracks from both Deep Purple and Rainbow, the 2CD boasts “Catch The Rainbow”, “Mistreated”, “Since You Been Gone”, “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “Black Night”, “Spotlight Kid”, “Smoke On The Water”, “Stargazer”, “Perfect Strangers”, and more.

The two German shows at Loreley and Bietigheim were caught on camera to produce the concert film Memories In Rock, which was released by Eagle Vision and Eagle Records in November 2016. This new 2CD set captures the full audio from the British show at the Genting Arena at the NEC, Birmingham, including performances of “Soldier Of Fortune” and “Burn” from the Mark III Deep Purple era that weren’t in the German shows.

The lineup for the Birmingham show featured Ritchie Blackmore (Guitar); Ronnie Romero (Vocals); David Keith (Drums); Bob Nouveau (Bass); Jens Johanssen (Keyboards); Candice Night (Backing Vocals); Lady Lynn (Backing Vocals).

A true celebration of Ritchie Blackmore’s career and legacy, Live In Birmingham 2016 excellently captures an astounding night of music.

Tracklisting:

Disc One
“Over The Rainbow” / “Highway Star”
“Spotlight Kid”
“Mistreated”
“Since You Been Gone”
“Man On The Silver Mountain”
“Soldier Of Fortune”
Medley: “Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth)” / Drum Solo / Bass Solo / Band Jam / Keyboard Solo (inc. Toccata & Fugue in Dm) / “Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth”
“Catch The Rainbow”

Disc Two
“Perfect Strangers”
“Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll”
“Child In Time”
“Stargazer”
Medley: “Black Night” / “Woman From Tokyo” / “Black Night”
“Burn”
“Smoke On The Water”

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow will be returning to tour the UK in June. The very special opening night will see them headlining the second annual Stone Free Festival at The O2, London, which will be Blackmore’s first London show since 1995 with further shows in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. A video trailer for the upcoming dates can be found below.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow live in the UK:

June
17 - London, UK - The O2 (Stone Free Festival)
22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena
25 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro
28 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena